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DIRECTIVE

Stepping up the drafting and promulgation of documents detailing and guiding the implementation of laws and ordinances

Over the past years, the Government.s lawmaking work, including the drafting and promulgation of documents detailing and guiding the implementation of laws and ordinances, has positively contributed to the national renewal and the building of a socialist state ruled by law of Vietnam, and international economic integration. However, this work remains slow in progress and low in quality; many detailing and guiding documents have not been promulgated in time, resulting in the delayed enforcement of relevant laws or ordinances and affecting their effect and efficacy in state management and social life.

The above situation is attributed to the following principal causes: leaders of some ministries or branches have not fulfilled their responsibilities in directing the drafting of documents; many draft documents submitted to the Government were of low quality and their revision took a lot of time; the coordination among ministries and branches in the drafting of legal documents was not close and effective; cadres' and civil servants' drafting competence and skills remain weak, failing to meet the requirements; the evaluation and examination of draft legal documents are still slow and of poor quality, failing to help the Prime Minister and cabinet members make decisions on important issues related to various state-management branches and domains or issues on which opinions remained divergent among ministries and branches.

In order to redress the above-said shortcomings and weaknesses, raise the quality, and speed up the process of the drafting of documents detailing and guiding the implementation of laws and ordinances (hereinafter collectively referred to as draft documents), the Prime Minister hereby instructs:

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies:

a/ To consider the drafting of documents a central task in their working programs.

b/ To strictly follow the document-drafting schedule specified in the working programs of the Government or the Prime Minister. Where drafts have not yet been prepared for submission, 30 working days before the submission deadline, such must be reported to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision. Such a report should clearly state the reasons, remedies, and time limit for submission, which must be no later than the effective date of laws or ordinances to be detailed and guided.

c/ To closely coordinate with the Government Office in reviewing and making lists of draft documents in the direction that:

Draft documents detailing and guiding the implementation of laws or ordinances which took effect on or prior to July 1, 2006, must be completed and submitted to the Prime Minister by November 30, 2006;

Draft documents detailing and guiding the implementation of laws or ordinances which took effect after July 1, 2006, must be completed and submitted to the Prime Minister at least 30 days before the effective date of such laws or ordinances;

The lists of draft documents should clearly state the submission deadlines in the order of priority and be reported to the Prime Minister before September 5, 2006;

d/ To strictly follow the time limit for commenting on draft documents sent by drafting agencies according to the Government's Working Regulation. Past this time limit, if the consulted agencies give no comments, they shall be considered as having agreed with the drafts;

e/ To prioritize the training and retraining of cadres and civil servants engaged in legal and legal document-drafting work at ministries and branches to raise their drafting skills;

f/ To inspect and review the implementation of the Prime Minister's Directive No. 14/2006/CT-TTg of April 10, 2006, on implementation of the Government's Decree No. 161/2005/ND-CP of December 27, 2005, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents and the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, for redressing and rectifying any problems in their ministries or branches;

g/ Ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies:

To direct the drafting of documents and take responsibility before the Government and the Prime Minister for the quality of draft documents and their submission deadlines;

To take the initiative in coordinating with concerned agencies in settling problems on which opinions remain divergent; in case of disagreement or big and complicated problems arising in the course of drafting documents, to promptly report them and propose solutions thereto to the Prime Minister;

Monthly, to direct the review of drafting of documents and strictly handle subordinate agencies or units which fail to keep to the drafting schedule, and redress weaknesses which delay the drafting process; and, at the same time, to review the contribution of comments on draft documents sent in by other agencies;

To accept their personal responsibilities before the Government and the Prime Minister when their ministries or branches fail to ensure the submission schedule;

To take responsibility for the return of bills or draft ordinances according to the provisions of Point d, Clause 4 of this Directive.

2. Agencies in charge of and boards drafting laws and ordinances:

a/ In the course of drafting laws or ordinances, to minimize issues which need detailed regulations or guidance;

b/ To promptly propose the Prime Minister to assign concerned ministries and branches to assume the prime responsibility for drafting documents on issues falling within their respective functions and tasks.

Drafts detailing and guiding the implementation of laws and ordinances must be submitted together with drafts of such laws and ordinances;

c/ Where there arise issues which need to be detailed or guided when the National Assembly or the National Assembly Standing Committee is examining laws or ordinances for passage, to expeditiously coordinate with the National Assembly agencies, the Ministry of Justice and the Government Office in gathering National Assembly deputies' opinions and organize the drafting of detailing and guiding documents.

3. The Ministry of Justice:

a/ To evaluate draft documents strictly according to the time limit and ensure their quality. For those drafts which are past their promulgation deadline, the evaluation time limit shall be 07 (seven) working days after the receipt of written evaluation requests of drafting agencies;

b/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office and concerned agencies in, expeditiously preparing a proposal on the drafting of the Bill on Promulgation of Legal Documents (on the basis of amending and supplementing the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents and the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents of People's Councils and People's Committees and integrating these two laws into one), and submitting it to the Government for the latter to consider and propose the National Assembly Standing Committee to include it in the 2007 legislative program of the National Assembly.

4. The Government Office:

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in, formulating a program on drafting legal documents under the competence of the Government or the Prime Minister, including a program on drafting documents guiding the implementation of laws or ordinances;

b/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice in, regularly monitoring and urging the implementation of the above-said program and report to the Government the progress of, as well as difficulties and problems in, drafting and submitting draft documents;

c/ For draft documents which have been submitted by ministries, ministerial-level agencies or government-attached agencies to the Government or the Prime Minister, to synthesize and examine them strictly according to the time limit, order and procedures under the Government's Working Regulation;

d/ To return to drafting agencies bills and draft ordinances which have been submitted without draft detailing and guiding documents, if such bills or draft ordinances have provisions which need to be detailed and guided;

e/ To make monthly review reports on the drafting of documents detailing and guiding the implementation of laws and ordinances for the Minister-Director of the Government Office to report it at the Government's meetings.

5. The Ministry of Finance:

To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office and concerned agencies in, promptly following the Prime Minister's directions in the Government Office's Official Letter No. 4447/VPCP-KTTH of August 16, 2006, in the direction of increasing funds for the drafting of legal documents in 2006 and subsequent years in order to speed up the drafting of legal documents and raise their quality, then report the implementation results to the Prime Minister.

6. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies and heads of concerned agencies shall have to implement this Directive.

The Government Office shall, together with the Ministry of Justice, monitor, urge and inspect the implementation of this Directive, and promptly report thereon to the Prime Minister.